Sadlers Place in Walsall, West Midlands, a residential care home providing personal care for adults and younger adults, who may have physical and or a learning disability and/or autistic spectrum disorder was rated outstanding for being responsive and well-led following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The safe, effective and caring elements of the report received the score of Good.
The inspection took place on the 12 November 2019.
The CQC report highlighted that staff found innovative ways to support people which had a positive impact on their quality of life. One resident told the CQC inspectors that staff had helped them to overcome their fear of the fire alarm. "Staff have showed me, and I know a little bit about it now." A staff member explained, "We involved them with our tests, showed them the fire panel and explained what happened when the alarm sounded. We also arranged a fire awareness visit from the local fire service. The firefighters came in the fire engine, dressed in their uniforms, so people would know what to expect. They also had a look around everyone's bedrooms and said they could see we were on the ball with everything."
Staff were flexible to ensure people were supported to enjoy life to its fullest. During the inspection visit a holiday to Blackpool was being planned, which was themed around their visit to see the show 'Dirty Dancing'.
Sadly, following the CQC inspection the trip was cancelled at the last minute due to problems with the hotel. A relative said, "The manager has called me to explain. She and the staff are absolutely gutted but they've made sure people don't miss out. They've already arranged outings every day, for example they are going to the Trafford Centre and one day staff are coming in to put on a show with songs from Grease. Staff are brilliant."
There were high levels of constructive engagement with everyone involved in the service, demonstrated by the provider's commitment to listening to people's views on the running of the service. Some residents had an active role in the provider's quality team as 'quality checkers', who were trained and supported to carry out quality visits to other services. One person described the visits as 'work' and records showed they were achieving the target they set to attend a set number of visits.
